Digital Commons Network^™

Unlocking The Secret To Weight Loss: Discovering The Most Effective Green Tea Products, Seoyeon Kim

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

To find the most effective green tea product that can replace

weight loss drugs, we compared the amount of catechin in six

different green tea products. The result was green tea latte

powder contained a significantly small amount of catechin

compared to other products, and the dried pearl green tea leaves

had the highest amount of catechin. Also, the unexpected result

was that green tea supplements had less amount of catechin

compared to dried leaves or even tea bags that are commonly

sold in markets.

Juvenile Recidivism Rates, Logan Stump, April Terry

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Juvenile crime peaked in the 1990s and has been on a downward decline since that time. However, youth remain overly represented in various stages of the juvenile and criminal legal systems. This poster outlines known criminogenic and non-criminogenic risk factors that influence juvenile offending. These risk factors have been identified in decades of correctional research and are reflected within many validated risk assessment instruments. The most widely used actuarial risk assessments will be outlined to demonstrate their effectiveness in predicting future offending behavior in youth. Lastly, based on known factors, this poster offers primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention and intervention …

Software Based Approach To Realtime Sports Graphics, Honesty Beaton

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

My research presents a software-based approach to real-time sports graphics, leveraging Unity, C#, and OpenCV. We aimed to enhance viewer engagement by providing dynamic and interactive graphics during sports broadcasts. My method involves real-time analysis of video feeds to cut out players, place them onto a virtual court, and underlay immersive visuals, giving the appearance that virtual visuals physically exist beneath a player. Evaluation of this approach demonstrates the effectiveness of utilizing a software-based approach for real-time sports graphics, akin to traditional hardware-based solutions

Exploring Strategies For Placement Stability Among Foster Care Children, Gabrielle Sewester

Dissertations

Children in foster care are considered a vulnerable population because of the maltreatment and abuse that previously occurred. In addition to the trauma resulting from previous abuse or neglect, children in foster care face ongoing exposure to trauma due to the lack of stability within the system. Instability in the foster care system is displayed by frequent changes in placement providers, multiple school changes, inconsistent mental and physical health treatment, prolonged permanency, and loss of connections with biological family members. The aim for this study is to fill the gap in the literature on foster parent’s experiences with successful placement …

Nontraditional Community College Students In Nursing: Perceptions Personified, Helene P. Seibert

Dissertations

Nontraditional students in nursing have been the topic of multiple research studies to gain insight into their perceptions regarding retention. This mixed methods study, using Jeffreys' Student Perception Appraisal-Revised (SPA-R, 2007a) takes the quantitative findings a step further by using a qualitative approach to generate findings that extend the value of that instrument by exploring the details pertaining to each of the environmental items using focus groups and individual interviews with community college nursing students, just prior to graduation. One hundred seven associate degree nursing students in their last semester at three Midwestern community colleges were surveyed with the SPA-R …

A Study Of The Effect Of Human Patient Simulation On Critical Thinking And Confidence Skills Of Baccalaureate Junior Nursing Students, Yanick D. Joseph

Dissertations

This quantitative study sought to evaluate human patient simulation's (HPS) impact on junior student nurses' critical thinking and confidence skills. The study investigated the impact of simulation as an adjunct to clinical learning on the critical thinking and confidence skills of (N=22) junior nursing students enrolled in the third quarter of a bachelor of nursing degree program in south Florida. A constructivist viewpoint served as the theoretical framework for the study. A two groups comparison group, pre-test-post-test design with the independent variable (simulation), and the dependent variables (critical thinking and self-confidence) ascribed to test the following null hypotheses set at …

Work Engagement, Burnout, And Well-Being In Nursing Professional Development Practitioners, Marlene T. Porter

Dissertations

This article-based manuscript dissertation will follow a two-manuscript process. The two manuscripts are related to work engagement, burnout, and well-being in the nursing professional development (NPD) practitioner. The first completed manuscript is a literature review that examines personal resources that affect work engagement, uncovers strategies to improve work engagement, and discusses the implications for the NPD practitioner. Fourteen studies met the inclusion criteria for the literature review identifying self-efficacy, resilience, optimism, meaning, mattering, hardiness, and grit as personal resources influencing work engagement. Strategies identified to improve work engagement included policy development, implementing self-awareness programs, and providing resilience, strengths, and gratitude …

Immigration, Moral Panics, And Punishment: The Impact Of Media Coverage And Public Interest On Jail Incarceration, Faraneh Shamserad

Dissertations

Despite extensive empirical evidence showing that immigration does not lead to increases in crime, the purported immigration and crime link has been used to buttress increasingly punitive immigration policies over the past few decades. While previous studies have explored the role of enforcement practices for punishment, this dissertation delves into the mechanisms through which immigrants are transformed into “criminal subjects” and the consequences for punishment at the local level. By integrating moral panic theory with research on immigration, crime, and punishment, I propose that the inflammatory language surrounding immigration in media and public discourse has punitive consequences for immigrants. Moreover, …

Combined Radiation And Convection In Developing Flow In A Parallel Plate Channel With Real Gas Behavior, Kyle Davis Pulsipher

Theses and Dissertations

The laminar, thermally developing flow of gases in a two-dimensional parallel plate channel is studied here. Using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), the combined effects of convection and real gas radiation are explored. Gas mixtures composed of H2O, CO2, and N2 are considered. To account for radiation in the participating medium, the Spectral Line Weighted-sum-of-gray-gases model is used. The model formulation, verification, and validation are provided through published articles written by the primary author. The predictions made for the case of combined convection and radiation are compared to the solution for the classical pure convection case, known as the Graetz solution. …

Will Our Future Selves Thank Us? An Examination Of Born-Digital Curation Practices At The University Of Kentucky Libraries, Megan M. Mummey, Andrew Mcdonnell, Emily B. Collier, Sarah Dorpinghaus, Ruth E. Bryan

Library Presentations

Cultural heritage resources are increasingly being produced and distributed digitally yet the world of physical materials has not declined. Can you realign current resources to meet future collection needs while at the same time continuing with existing collection needs? Analog-based archival theory and practice is still relevant, but born-digital formats make acquisition, appraisal, resource allocation, collection management, and external relationships much more challenging. These challenges range from monetary and environmental costs to resource allocation to social media technology woes to campus-wide IT relationships.

In this presentation, University of Kentucky archivists share practical tips, tools, and mental frameworks to identify gaps, …

Data-Driven Modeling Of Core Gene Regulatory Network Underlying Leukemogenesis In Idh Mutant Aml., Ataur Katebi, Xiaowen Chen, Daniel Ramirez, Sheng Li, Mingyang Lu

Faculty Research 2024

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is characterized by uncontrolled proliferation of poorly differentiated myeloid cells, with a heterogenous mutational landscape. Mutations in IDH1 and IDH2 are found in 20% of the AML cases. Although much effort has been made to identify genes associated with leukemogenesis, the regulatory mechanism of AML state transition is still not fully understood. To alleviate this issue, here we develop a new computational approach that integrates genomic data from diverse sources, including gene expression and ATAC-seq datasets, curated gene regulatory interaction databases, and mathematical modeling to establish models of context-specific core gene regulatory networks (GRNs) for a …

Standardizing The Volunteer Experience: Mtc Interpretation Volunteer Onboarding Course, Parker Whitelock

Instructional Psychology and Technology Graduate Student Projects

This project report outlines the development and implementation of an onboarding course for volunteer interpreters at the Provo Missionary Training Center (MTC). Aimed at standardizing the introductory experience, the course covers areas such as MTC campus navigation, interpretation equipment use, and volunteer policies, alongside instilling a spiritual foundation for the volunteers' service. The course was designed to accommodate a diverse range of volunteers, emphasizing clear, accessible instructions and practical application through self-paced modules on the Canvas platform. Feedback from initial implementation indicates high relevance, clarity, and satisfaction among volunteers, with suggestions for further enhancement. This endeavor not only enhances operational …

The Conceptual Foundations Of Innate Immunity: Taking Stock 30 Years Later, Thomas Pradeu, Bart P.H.J. Thomma, Stephen E. Girardin, Bruno Lemaitre

Presidential Fellows Articles and Research

While largely neglected over decades during which adaptive immunity captured most of the attention, innate immune mechanisms have now become central to our understanding of immunology. Innate immunity provides the first barrier to infection in vertebrates, and it is the sole mechanism of host defense in invertebrates and plants. Innate immunity also plays a critical role in maintaining homeostasis, shaping the microbiota, and in disease contexts such as cancer, neurodegeneration, metabolic syndromes, and aging. The emergence of the field of innate immunity has led to an expanded view of the immune system, which is no longer restricted to vertebrates and …

Co-Designing With First-Generation Transfer Students, Randi Petrauskas Harris

Dissertations and Theses

Roughly 80% of community college students indicate that they intend to transfer to a four-year institution, 30% of those students eventually transfer, and 13% of those students persist to graduate with a baccalaureate degree. There has been previous research on transfer students and on first generation students, but the intersection of first-generation transfer students is under-reported. Prior research indicates that sense of belonging is an important factor in student persistence to graduation for transfer students. Higher education institutions, specifically four-year public institutions, are positioned to support first-generation transfer student sense of belonging by fostering a "transfer receptive culture." Recognizing that …

Adopting The Standard Medical Deduction Increased State Snap Enrollment And Benefits, Yuwei Zhang, Jun Li, Dongmei Zhu, Colleen Heflin

Population Health Research Brief Series

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a critical safety net program that helps reduce food insecurity among low-income households in the United States. However, many eligible households do not participate in SNAP due to burdensome administrative requirements. To make it easier for more older adults and people with disabilities to participate in SNAP, many states have adopted the Standard Medical Deduction (SMD) to simplify administrative requirements. This brief summarizes findings from a study that examined the associations between state SMD adoption and SNAP participation and benefits from 2004 to 2019.

Gender Detection In Facial Images: A Comprehensive Cnn Analysis, Jose N T Ambrosio, Anas Hourani, Magdalene Moy

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

This research investigates the construction of a robust gender detection system using facial features and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), exploring the impact of different layer configurations on accuracy and computational efficiency. With a validation accuracy of 91%, findings illuminate the nuanced relationship between precision and computational resources, enriching discussions on facial recognition technologies.

Rethinking Taxing Excess Profits, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, Tamir Shanan

Articles

This article discusses the application of excess profit taxes (EPTs, also referred to as windfall taxes) that have gained renewed interest and popularity over the past several years. The revival of these windfall taxes gained renewed interest following the COVID-19 outbreak, which led to a sharp price increase in corporate revenues of medical equipment and within pharmaceutical industries. However, the revival of such taxes was also used following the recent rise in energy prices mainly in Europe, leading to a sharp increase in corporate revenues of energy corporations and the recent surge in borrowing interest rates that was not accompanied …

The Effect Of Skin Tone Inclusive Dermatology Education On Diagnostic Accuracy And Self-Confidence In Graduate Nursing Students, Kaylyn Bourne, Laura Gray

DNP Projects

Abstract

BACKGROUND: People with skin of color face worse health outcomes than their light-skinned peers. According to the literature, graduate nursing programs lack skin tone inclusive curricular content (Shue-McGuffin & Powers, 2022). This contributes to disproportionate racial and ethnic health disparities. Skin tone inclusive online dermatology modules have been shown to improve diagnostic accuracy and self-confidence among medical students and residents in primary care specialties (Trinh et al., 2021; Salava & Salmela, 2022; Wang et al., 2020). Similar models may be an effective approach for graduate nursing students as they prepare to evaluate skin disease across the skin tone …

From Space To Ground Zero: The Application Of Geographic Information Systems And Rocket Cargo Transportation To Disaster Management Operations, Sarah Stout

Senior Honors Theses

This paper provides an overview of the application of space-based technologies, specifically Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology and rocket cargo launches, to disaster management operations. GIS links data from satellites, remote sensing, and other sources to dashboards, allowing relief teams to monitor relevant demographic, environmental, and disaster details. This information supports multiple aspects of planning and decision-making in the preparedness, response, and relief stages of the disaster management cycle. Rocket cargo transportation, an emerging method of shipping supplies, will allow for supplies to be shipped anywhere in the world in under twenty-four hours. This can be used in a future …

Implementing Continuous Glucose Monitoring: A Quality Improvement Project, Molly Suydam

DNP Projects

Significance and Background: Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices are beneficial for assessing blood glucose measurements throughout the day by simply waving a smartphone over the sensor that’s attached to the back of a patient’s arm. Patients with T2DM who check blood glucose measurements via finger-sticks, have to undergo numerous daily finger-sticks. Over time, this action can grow very cumbersome while CGM offers real-time blood glucose measurements without having to pierce the skin repeatedly. CGM use in patients with T2DM may help to improve overall blood glucose measurements.

Purpose: To trial CGM in patients with T2DM and monitor blood glucose measurements …

Teacher And Counselor Perceptions Of Implementing Service-Learning At A U.S. Virgin Islands School District, Hester Zaethar Philbert

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore teachers’ and counselors’ perceptions of the challenges of implementing service learning with fidelity to best practices consistently in a school district in the U.S. Virgin Islands and to identify resources necessary to support the implementation of best practices in service learning. With only 21% of high school graduates in the Virgin Islands advancing to higher education, understanding and addressing challenges in implementing service-learning is important for enhancing student outcomes. The study, guided by Dewey’s theory of experiential education and Kolb’s theory of service learning, used semistructured interviews to gather data from …

Float Like A Butterfly, Sting Like A Bee!, Kobe D. Rome

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

By injecting an electron into the empty pie* molecular orbital (LUMO) of Amino Acids in gas phase, we measure the Vertical Attachment Energies (VAEs) for the formation of short-lived anion states of these species using electron transmission spectroscopy (ETS). Our ETS study, a first of its kind to measure the VAE for the simplest of proteins, Glycine-Glycine (Gly-Gly), is currently in progress. Based on our previous measurements for several Amino Acids including Glycine, we expect a common range of attachment energy (1.50 – 2.00 eV) for Gly-Gly.

Effects Of Yoga On Older Residing In Assisted Living Facilities, Anita Walters, Luke Kriley

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Although the number of adults aged 65 and older has been steadily increasing world-wide for the past three decades, few studies have been conducted to explore the benefits of a yoga-type exercise program for those residing in assisted living facilities. A within-subjects repeated measures quasi-experimental design was used to examine the effectiveness of standing yoga postures in improving strength, balance, and quality of life in older adults currently residing in an assisted living facility. In the single-group design the participants were pre-assessed in week one, reassessed in week 2 for test-retest reliability, attended a 30-minute exercise session three times per …

Optimizing Nba Roster Construction, Nick R. Riccardi

Sport Management - All Scholarship

This study aims to quantify the effect that complementary player types have on team success in the National Basketball Association. Using cluster analysis, player-seasons are redefined from their traditional basketball positions to better encompass the roles that players play. For the 10 seasons of data, the best player for each of the 30 teams in the league is determined and teams are grouped based on the cluster of their best player. Ordinary Least Squares regressions are performed to test what player types fit together best. The results of this study show the importance of complementary workers to a firm’s success.

Student Senate Meeting Minutes April 9, 2024, Student Senate-Winona State University

Student Senate Meeting Minutes

This document is the official Winona State University Student Senate Minutes for April 9, 2024.

Microparticle Compositions For Controlled Delivery Of Telmisartan And Actinomycin D, Subhra Mohapatra, Shyam S. Mohapatra, Eleni Markoutsa, Alejandro J. Gonzalez, Heta N. Jadhav

USF Patents

This disclosure is directed to therapeutic compositions, and more particularly to microparticle compositions for the controlled delivery of telmisartan and actinomycin D.

Artificial Intelligence Could Probably Write This Essay Better Than Me, Claire Martino

Augustana Center for the Study of Ethics Essay Contest

No abstract provided.

"The Relevant History And Medical And Ethical Future Viability Of Xenotransplantation", Morgan Janes

Augustana Center for the Study of Ethics Essay Contest

Xenotransplantation, the transplantation of organs or tissues from one species to another, presents a complex nexus of medical, ethical, and cultural considerations. In this article, we delve into the multifaceted landscape of xenotransplantation, beginning with a thorough examination of its relevant historical trajectory. From early experiments to recent advancements, we chart the evolution of this field, setting the stage for a nuanced discussion. We then confront the central issue: the true medical viability of xenotransplantation and the looming specter of operative risk. By scrutinizing the ethical dilemmas inherent in xenotransplantation through a multicultural lens, we illuminate the diverse perspectives that …

Constant-Ph Simulations With The Polarizable Atomic Multipole Amoeba Force Field, Andrew C Thiel, Matthew J Speranza, Sanika Jadhav, Lewis L Stevens, Daniel K Unruh, Pengyu Ren, Jay W Ponder, Jana Shen, Michael J Schnieders

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Accurately predicting protein behavior across diverse pH environments remains a significant challenge in biomolecular simulations. Existing constant-pH molecular dynamics (CpHMD) algorithms are limited to fixed-charge force fields, hindering their application to biomolecular systems described by permanent atomic multipoles or induced dipoles. This work overcomes these limitations by introducing the first polarizable CpHMD algorithm in the context of the Atomic Multipole Optimized Energetics for Biomolecular Applications (AMOEBA) force field. Additionally, our implementation in the open-source Force Field X (FFX) software has the unique ability to handle titration state changes for crystalline systems including flexible support for all 230 space groups. The …

Enhancing Pump Efficiency And Reducing Energy Consumption At The Sea Water Distillation Plant Of An Aluminium Company, Essa Binshaqooi

Theses

The objective of this project is to enhance pump efficiency by at least 10% and reduce energy consumption by 5% in the Sea Water Distillation Unit of a major Aluminium Company. Challenges include progressive wear, abrasion, and sea water scaling, which contribute to major losses in pumps, leading to inefficient performance and increased operational costs. Failure Mode Analysis (FMA) and Root Cause Analysis (RCA) were conducted on both Sea Water Pumps (SWPs) and Brine Circulation Pumps (BRPs) to identify these major losses. Strategic improvements recommended for both pumps include the required pump rating, changes in composition, and performance monitoring. Detailed …